Merchandise display system

ABSTRACT

A merchandise display system for a four post rack comprises a left and right gables affixed to the rack. The left and right gables provide a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions. A plurality of merchandise supports for supporting the merchandise are mounted to the associated pairs of display surface supports.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to merchandise display systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Merchandise display systems are commonly used in retail environments. For example, self-service shelving systems are provided in retail stores to stock merchandise for sale. Such shelving systems are designed to attract customers, to display purchase options, and to allow customers ready access to the merchandise for sale. This both allows the retailer to promote products preferentially, based on whatever factors the retailer considers to be relevant, and reduces labour costs because merchandise selection is immediately available to purchasers merely by visual inspection.

One type of shelving system that is particularly popular in some retail environments, particularly those that sell merchandise in bulk, is known as a “four post rack”, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 1. The rack 10 comprises four corner posts 12 each having a series of holes or slots extending longitudinally along the post 12. In heavy-duty applications, for example in lumber and hardware stores, structural members such as bridging bars 14 and side struts 16 are welded or otherwise affixed to the corner posts 12 to tie the posts 12 together into a unitary frame. Shelve beams 18 are affixed to the posts 12 by bolts, optionally supporting shelves 18 a (shown in phantom) serving as merchandise storage surfaces and/or merchandise display surfaces.

This arrangement works well for large articles, such as lumber and plumbing pipes, medium-sized appliances, boxes of bulk goods and many other types of merchandise. However, for smaller merchandise a bin system is preferable, allowing the retailer to maintain an organized, visually intuitive and aesthetically appealing arrangement of merchandise while maximizing the use of shelf space (and therefore floor space), which is extremely important in an efficient retail environment.

One of the difficulties associated with adapting shelf space to smaller articles, for example fasteners, hinges and other small hardware items, and myriad other types of vendible merchandise, is making the most efficient use of the prime self-service space on the rack, which is the lower portion of the rack, below eye level, where customers can clearly see the contents of the bins. The bins are conventionally placed on the shelves 18, but only along the front edges of the shelves 18 to so as to be visible to a customer standing in front of the rack 10. Further, with this arrangement the shelves 18 must be spaced sufficiently from one another to preclude upper shelves 18 from obscuring the merchandise stowed on lower shelves 18. Since a standard four post rack utilizes prefabricated shelves 18 that are necessarily sized to the depth of the rack 10 and therefore can only be mounted horizontally, the shelves 18 must be spaced relatively far apart, which fails to take maximum advantage of the available floor space, i.e. the footprint of the rack 10.

It would accordingly be beneficial to provide a merchandise display system capable of being mounted to a standard four post rack, but which allows the shelves to be spaced closer together in the prime self-service portion of the rack without sacrificing the visibility of the displayed merchandise to customers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate by way of example only a preferred embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional four post rack.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a system according to the invention for attachment to the rack of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a right gable in the system of FIG. 2, the left gable in the preferred embodiment being substantially a mirror image thereof.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the right gable taken opposite FIG. 3.

FIG. 4A is an enlarged perspective view showing a mounting hook on the gable of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a support beam in the system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5A is an enlarged partial perspective view of the support beam taken from the right of FIG. 5.

FIG. 5B is an enlarged end elevation of the support beam taken from the left of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shelf for the system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the shelf of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the gables affixed to the rack.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the support beams mounted to the gables.

FIG. 10 a perspective view of the shelves mounted on the support beams.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a product identifier shelf for mounting over the merchandise display shelves.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the system of the invention affixed to a rack with extension gables.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a removable puck for attachment to the gables for optional additional beam supports.

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the system of an embodiment of the invention having removable bins.

FIG. 14A is an enlarged partial side elevation of the bin of FIG. 14.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a shelf with integral beams.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a rack embodying the system of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a system for displaying merchandise affixed to a conventional four post rack. The system can this be retrofitted to an existing four post rack or supplied with a four post rack for assembly.

The present invention provides a merchandise display system for a rack having at least two corner posts defining a left end of the rack and two corner posts defining a right end of the rack, and a plurality of rack shelf support positions for attaching a plurality of shelves to the posts, comprising a left gable affixed to the left end of the rack and a right gable affixed to the right end of the rack, the left and right gables providing a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, each pair of display surface supports on the left gable being at substantially the same height and depth position as the associated pair of display surface supports on the right gable, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions, and a plurality of merchandise supports mounted to the associated pairs of display surface supports, for supporting the merchandise.

The present invention further provides a merchandise display system comprising a rack having at least two corner posts defining a left end of the rack and two corner posts defining a right end of the rack, and a plurality of rack shelf support positions for attaching a plurality of shelves to the posts, a left gable affixed to the left end of the rack and a right gable affixed to the right end of the rack, the left and right gables providing a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, each pair of display surface supports on the left gable being at substantially the same height and depth position as the associated pair of display surface supports on the right gable, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions, and a plurality of merchandise supports mounted to the associated pairs of display surface supports, for supporting the merchandise.

The invention further provides a kit of parts for assembling a merchandise display system, comprising kit of parts for assembling a merchandise display system, comprising: a left gable for affixing to the left end of the rack and a right gable for affixing to the right end of the rack, the left and right gables providing a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, each pair of display surface supports on the left gable being at substantially the same height and depth position as the associated pair of display surface supports on the right gable, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions, a plurality of merchandise supports for mounting to the associated pairs of display surface supports, for supporting the merchandise.

A prior art rack 10 to which the invention may be advantageously applied is illustrated in FIG. 1, by way of non-limiting example. The rack 10 comprises at least two corner posts 12 defining a left end 10 a of the rack and two corner posts defining a right end 10 b of the rack. Each post 12 provides a plurality of rack shelf support positions, for example at 12′ as illustrated, for attaching a plurality of shelves (not shown) to the posts 12, for example by bolts as is conventional. The posts 12 within each end 10 a, 10 b may be joined by struts 14 for additional strength, and the ends 10 a, 10 b may be joined together, for example by top rails 16 which are at a level above the merchandise so as not to interfere with the display or storage of merchandise on the shelves.

An embodiment of a merchandise display system according to the invention, for attachment to a four post rack such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, is illustrated in FIG. 2 (it will be noted that merchandise supporting shelves 50, illustrated in FIG. 6, have been omitted from FIG. 2 for clarity). The system according to the invention comprises a left gable 22 a for affixing to the left end 10 a of the rack 10 and a right gable 22 b for affixing to the right end 10 b of the rack 10. The gables 22 a, 22 b are formed from a sturdy, rigid material suitable for the maximum load that the shelves will carry in use, for example 11 gauge steel for heavy-duty applications such as hardware.

Each gable 22 a, 22 b provides a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports 24. As the left and right gables 22 a, 22 b are substantially minor images of one another, the left gable 22 a provides one of each pair of display surface supports 24 at substantially the same height and depth position as the gable display surface support 24 of the associated pair on the right gable 22 b. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, display surface supports 24 a and 24 b form a pair of display surface supports 24 on the right gable 22 b. The left gable 22 a is substantially a minor image of the right gable 22 b, and thus provides an associated pair of display surface supports 24 for supporting one or more merchandise supporting structures in a laterally horizontal orientation.

The display surface supports 24 may for example be formed from 3/16″ steel brackets, embedded in complementary slots 24 a (best seen in gable 22 b in FIG. 2) stamped through the gables 22 a and 22 b and welded to the gables 22 a, 22 b at the appropriate positions, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, or otherwise suitably affixed to the gables 22 a, 22 b.

The gables 22 a, 22 b are preferably mounted to the respective ends 10 a, 10 b of the rack 10 by bolts, and are provided with openings in suitable positions for this purpose, distributed about the periphery of the gable 22 a or 22 b and preferably in alignment with rack shelf support positions on the posts 12. To facilitate mounting the gables 22 a, 22 b to the rack 10, a plurality of hook lances 28 (shown in detail in FIG. 4a ) may be punched out of a flange 26 disposed along the edge of each gable 22 a, 22 b. The hook lances 28 are positioned such that when the gable 22 a or 22 b is placed against the rack for mounting, the flange 26 abuts the front face of the post 12, as can be seen in FIG. 8, with the hook lances 28 in alignment with a series of slots disposed in the front face of the post 12. The gable 22 a or 22 b can then be hung on the front post 12 of the respective end 10 a or 10 b of the rack 10, the hook lances 28 engaging the slots in the post 12 to suspend the gable 22 a or 22 b in position while the installer bolts the gable 22 a or 22 b to the rack 10.

FIG. 8 illustrates the gables 22 a, 22 b affixed to the rack 10, from which it can be seen that when the gables 22 a, 22 b are affixed to the rack at least some of the associated pairs of display surface supports 24 are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions on the posts 12. In particular, the gables 22 a, 22 b permit the display surface supports 24 to be located at any intermediate position along the depth (front-to-back dimension) of the rack 10. This provides a number of advantages, including allowing for the support of shelves having disparate depths. Moreover, as shown in the embodiment illustrated, this allows at least some display surface supports 24 to be disposed at different depth positions on the gable 22 a or 22 b; in this fashion, even where the merchandise supports all have the same depth dimension the front edges of the shelves increasingly recede toward the rear of the rack 10 as the height of the shelf increases. As can be seen in the assembled system illustrated in FIG. 10, this results in increased visibility of the merchandise on each shelf to a customer standing in front of the rack 10 when viewing shelves that are disposed below eye level.

It will also be apparent that the front gable support 24 a may be disposed at a lower level than the rear gable support 24 b, as shown, so that the merchandise supports, described below, are tilted downwardly toward the front of the rack 10. This also improves visibility of the merchandise on each shelf to a customer standing in front of the rack 10, as illustrated in FIG. 10.

A plurality of merchandise supports are mounted to the associated pairs of display surface supports 24. In the embodiment shown the merchandise supports comprise beams 40 supporting separate shelves 50, which in turn may support bins 70. However, the merchandise supports may comprise any combination of beams, shelves and bins supported by the display surface supports. Depending on the size and type of merchandise, particularly in the case of large items of merchandise, the merchandise supports may comprise only beams 40, providing a two-point support for each large item, and in this embodiment bins 70 or other suitable containers may be removably mounted to the beams 40 to hold the merchandise.

The merchandise supports may thus comprise beams 40, shelves 50, bins 70, or any combination thereof. For example, in the embodiment illustrated the merchandise supports comprise shelves 50 mounted on top of beams 40. However, it is also possible to form shelves 100 with integrated structures 102 that are supported on the gable supports 24, eliminating the need for separate beams 40, as illustrated in FIG. 15. An advantage to using beams 40 as support for separate shelves 50 is that identical beams 40 can be easily manufactured, thus allowing the shelves to be of different types, for example solid, grill or screen configurations, to suit different types of merchandise. However, the invention includes embodiments in which the shelves are designed to be supported by the display surface supports 24.

The invention further includes embodiments in which beams 40 are the sole merchandise supports, and in these embodiments the beams may be configured to retain merchandise, for example by providing an upstanding front lip to prevent merchandise from slipping forwardly off the supports. This embodiment may for example be useful where the merchandise consists of large boxes or crates, or other articles that easily span the distance between the front and rear display surface supports 24 a, 24 b.

In the embodiment illustrated steel support beams 40 (illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 5 a) for mounting on associated pairs of display surface supports 24 each comprise a main body 42, which for example may for example be a steel tube having a generally rectangular cross-section. In the embodiment illustrated an upstanding shelf retaining lip 44 is formed along one longitudinal edge of the top surface of the main body 42, to restrain a shelf 50 against transverse movement when mounted. One face of the beam 40 may provide a downwardly extending bin retaining lip 48, for reasons which are described below, provided at each end with a notch 46 having a width substantially equal to the depth of the gable display surface support 24, which allows the ends of the beam 40 to seat in display surface supports 24 with the bin retaining lip 48 extending between the display surface supports 24.

The beams 40 are thus mounted between the gables 22 a, 22 b, as shown in FIG. 9. As noted above, the beams so installed can serve as merchandise supports without any additional structure, so long as the merchandise spans the distance between associated pairs of front and rear beams 40 a, 40 b. However, for greater versatility the merchandise supports further comprise shelves 50 mounted on each associated pair of front and rear support beams 40 a, 40 b. One suitable shelf 50, by way of non-limiting example, is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The shelf is dimensioned to extend substantially completely between the gables (although shorter shelf lengths are possible when the shelf 50 is mounted on beams 40).

The shelf 50 comprises a merchandise supporting surface 52, in the embodiment shown formed from a suitably strong steel grill or screen structure, however the merchandise supporting surface 52 may be composed of any suitable material, solid or otherwise. Welded or otherwise suitably affixed to the merchandise supporting surface 52 is an optional rear merchandise retaining lip 56 extending upwardly for preventing merchandise from falling off the back of the shelf 50. The shelf 50 seats on the beams 40 between the shelf retaining lips 44 of associated beams 40, as shown in FIG. 10.

It can be seen from FIG. 10 that in the embodiment illustrated front beams 40 a and rear beam 40 b within each associated pair of support beams 40 are disposed at different vertical levels, such that the merchandise supports are disposed at a downward incline toward the front of the rack 10, so that the shelves 50 tilt downwardly toward the front of the rack, increasing visibility to the customer. In this embodiment the display surface supports 24 are disposed at different depth positions on the gable 22 a and 22 b such that front edges of the mounted shelves 50 increasingly recede toward a rear of the rack 10 relative to lower shelves 50.

Depending upon the type of merchandise, the merchandise supports may further comprise containers, for example bins 70, for mounting on the shelves 50, as shown in FIG. 10. The bins 70 could alternatively be mounted directly on the beams 40. However, for maximum versatility bins 70 are mounted on the shelves 50. In some embodiments the bins 70 are provided with notches 72 which are releasably engaged by the bin retaining lip 58 when the bin 70 is pulled out by a customer to view its contents, and can be maintained in that position while the customer is using the bin 70, as in the case of the bin 70′ illustrated in FIG. 10. This also has the advantage of reducing the labour cost of refilling the bins, which are readily accessible to store personnel when supported in the extended position of bin 70′.

In use, the gables 22 a, 22 b are hung from the posts 12 and securely bolted to the posts 12 as described above. In the embodiment illustrated beams 40 are then mounted to associated pairs of display surface supports 24, the shelf retaining lip 44 of the front beam 40 being oriented toward the front of the rack 10 and the shelf retaining lip 44 of the rear beam 40 being oriented toward the rear of the rack 10. The shelves 50 are seated on the beam bodies 42 and retained between the shelf retaining lips 44, and optionally bolted or otherwise affixed to the beams 40. Merchandise and/or bins 70 containing merchandise can then be placed on the shelves 50 for display. An example of the system of the invention assembled to a four post rack is illustrated in FIG. 16, it being appreciated that some components illustrated therein are optional.

The gables 22 a, 22 b may be formed to any desired height, depending upon the needs of the retailer. In some embodiments the gables 22 a, 22 b may be custom-formed. In other embodiments the gables 22 a, 22 b my be pre-formed to a standard height, and secondary gables 22 c, 22 d of any desired height may be mounted over the gables 22 a, 22 b, as shown in FIG. 12. A tab 23 projecting from the bottom edge of each secondary gable 22 c, 22 d prevents lateral separation between the top edges of gables 22 a, 22 b and the bottom edges of gables 22 c, 22 d, respectively. Interior faces of the secondary gables 22 c, 22 d can be imprinted or overlaid with advertising or instructional indicia. In the embodiment illustrated the display surface supports 24 on the secondary gables 22 c, 22 d are disposed directly above the highest pair of display surface supports 24 on the gables 22 a, 22 b, since these shelves are above eye level and there is therefore no advantage to continuing the ‘waterfall’ configuration of the receding shelves in the gables 22 a, 22 b below.

In some embodiments, at least one associated pair of beam supports 24 is removably affixed to one or more gables 22 a, 22 b or 22 c, 22 d. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13 a puck 60 is provided with a base plate 61 having a projecting gable merchandise support 62. The gable merchandise support 62 is configures to extend through complementary slot 64 in the secondary gable 22 d, and the base plate is then fastened to the secondary gable 22 d by bolts or in any other suitable fashion if a gable merchandise support is desired at that position. Otherwise the gable merchandise support 62 is omitted, avoiding the unsightly (and potentially interfering projection where not beam 40 or shelf 50 is mounted. This would facilitate, for example, mounting a backboard imprinted with advertising or instructional indicia (not shown) between beams 40 b and 40 c in FIG. 12, or mounting lights 90 (shown in FIG. 2) to the beam 40 c.

In some embodiments the top shelf, for example a “belly-beam” shelf 80 as shown in FIG. 11, may be provided for primarily aesthetic or informational purposes. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11 the shelf 80 comprises side panels 82 for bolting (or otherwise affixing) the shelf 80 to the tops of the gables 22 a, 22 b; a top panel 84 which can optionally also serve as a merchandise support surface; and an oblique front panel 86 which may be imprinted or overlaid with advertising or instructional indicia. The belly-beam shelf 80 may rest directly on the gable brackets 24 without requiring beams 40 for support.

Various embodiments of the present invention having been thus described in detail by way of example, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the invention. The invention includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. A merchandise display system for a rack having at least two corner posts defining a left end of the rack and two corner posts defining a right end of the rack, and a plurality of rack shelf support positions for attaching a plurality of shelves to the posts, comprising a left gable affixed to the left end of the rack and a right gable affixed to the right end of the rack, the left and right gables providing a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, each pair of display surface supports on the left gable being at substantially the same height and depth position as the associated pair of display surface supports on the right gable, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions, and a plurality of merchandise supports mounted to the associated pairs of display surface supports, for supporting the merchandise.
 22. The merchandise display system of claim 21 wherein the merchandise supports comprise beams.
 23. The merchandise display system of claim 21 wherein the merchandise supports comprise shelves.
 24. The merchandise display system of claim 23 comprising bins for mounting on the shelves.
 25. The merchandise display system of claim 21 wherein at least some display surface supports are disposed at different depth positions on the gable, such that front edges of the mounted merchandise supports increasingly recede toward a rear of the rack relative to lower merchandise supports.
 26. The merchandise display system of claim 21 wherein at least some of the associated pairs of display surface supports comprise front and rear display surface supports at different vertical levels, such that at least some of the merchandise supports are disposed at a downward incline toward the front of the rack.
 27. The merchandise display system of claim 21 wherein at least some of the merchandise supports are provided with an upwardly extending front member for retaining the bins on the shelves.
 28. The merchandise display system of claim 24 wherein at least some of the merchandise supports are provided with a downwardly extending front member for releasably engaging a rear portion of the bins when the bins are pulled forwardly on the shelves.
 29. The merchandise display system of claim 28 wherein at least one associated pair of beam supports is removably affixed to each gable.
 30. A merchandise display system comprising a rack having at least two corner posts defining a left end of the rack and two corner posts defining a right end of the rack, and a plurality of rack shelf support positions for attaching a plurality of shelves to the posts, a left gable affixed to the left end of the rack and a right gable affixed to the right end of the rack, the left and right gables providing a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, each pair of display surface supports on the left gable being at substantially the same height and depth position as the associated pair of display surface supports on the right gable, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions, and a plurality of merchandise supports mounted to the associated pairs of display surface supports, for supporting the merchandise.
 31. The merchandise display system of claim 30 wherein the merchandise supports comprise beams.
 32. The merchandise display system of claim 30 wherein the merchandise supports comprise shelves.
 33. The merchandise display system of claim 32 comprising bins for mounting on the shelves.
 34. The merchandise display system of claim 30 wherein at least some display surface supports are disposed at different depth positions on the gable, such that front edges of the mounted merchandise supports increasingly recede toward a rear of the rack relative to lower merchandise supports.
 35. The merchandise display system of claim 30 wherein at least some of the associated pairs of display surface supports comprise front and rear display surface supports at different vertical levels, such that at least some of the merchandise supports are disposed at a downward incline toward the front of the rack.
 36. The merchandise display system of claim 30 wherein at least some of the merchandise supports are provided with an upwardly extending front member for retaining bins on the shelves.
 37. The merchandise display system of claim 33 wherein at least some of the merchandise supports are provided with a downwardly extending front member for releasably engaging a rear portion of the bins when the bins are pulled forwardly on the shelves.
 38. The merchandise display system of claim 37 wherein at least one associated pair of beam supports is removably affixed to each gable.
 39. A kit of parts for assembling a merchandise display system to a rack having at least two corner posts defining a left end of the rack and two corner posts defining a right end of the rack, and a plurality of rack shelf support positions for attaching a plurality of shelves to the posts, comprising: a left gable for affixing to the left end of the rack and a right gable for affixing to the right end of the rack, the left and right gables providing a plurality of associated pairs of front and rear display surface supports, each pair of display surface supports on the left gable being at substantially the same height and depth position as the associated pair of display surface supports on the right gable, such that when the gables are affixed to the rack at least some of the display surface supports are in positions different than the rack shelf support positions, a plurality of merchandise supports for mounting to the associated pairs of display surface supports, for supporting the merchandise.
 40. The kit of parts of claim 39 wherein the merchandise supports comprise beams, shelves, bins, or any combination thereof. 